Christopher Wheeldon has become one of the most sought-after ballet choreographers in the world and the founder of an adventurous new company that regularly performs in New York, London and Vail.

But back in 1996, Wheeldon was just a promising beginner working with the New York City Ballet. So, when Martin Fredmann, then artistic director of the Colorado Ballet, offered him a chance to create a new version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," he didn't hesitate.

"It was such a big opportunity for me that despite the fact that the set was being borrowed from the Ashton production I had danced in many times before, I jumped at the chance," Wheeldon said from his New York office.

The two-act ballet, which debuted in February 1997, was the first work the then 23-year-old British choreographer created for a professional troupe in the United States. It came a few months before his "Slavonic Dances" premiered at the New York City Ballet.

The Colorado Ballet will present the work for the third time, beginning Saturday. A second revival makes sense, artistic director Gil Boggs said, because of the work's quality and the company's stake in this piece and Wheeldon's career.

"It's something Colorado Ballet is very proud of, that his version was done on this company and they had the vision to do it," Boggs said.

The eight performances at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House will incorporate 41 dancers and apprentices (two casts in the principal roles) and 29 students from the company's academy.

Advertisement

Unlike the company's two previous presentations, which were performed to recorded music, this one will feature accompaniment from a 45-piece pit orchestra, the Colorado Children's Chorale and two soprano soloists.

The ballet is set to Felix Mendelssohn's 1826 score, with the addition of excerpts from four of the composer's other works.

Because of two famous pre- existing versions of Shake- speare's fantastical comedy by Frederick Ashton and George Balanchine, Wheeldon did not know at first what he could bring to an adaptation of the work.

But after revisiting the play and reflecting on what he liked and disliked about those earlier adaptations, he began to develop his own distinctive take on the story.

"So, it became intriguing," he said. "There were elements of the play that neither of them had touched on, which I thought could be touched on, which would be fun. It all felt sort of like a challenge and an interesting project to pursue."

In 1997, then-Denver Post dance critic Glenn Giffin praised the result as a "vital, magical dance event," writing that it compared favorably with the two earlier, better- known versions.

"Wheeldon, of the three, has best told the story, almost as completely as Shakespeare and managed to do so with a minimum of confusion, only as much mime as absolutely necessary and, along the way, created some splendid roles for both dance and dramatic potential," Giffin wrote.

Lorita Travaglia, who restaged the work with the company's other ballet mistress Sandra Brown, said this version heightens the focus on the two crisscrossed sets of lovers and offers an array of funny moments.

Balanchine's influence is especially evident, and the company has even nicknamed the final ensemble scene in Act 2 the "Balanchine section." Wheeldon is quick to acknowledge his debt to the longtime artistic leader of the New York City Ballet.

"At the time," Wheeldon said, "I hadn't been in America for very long and was still dancing for the New York City Ballet and was very much enamored, of course, of Balanchine and the Balanchine ballets and using him as a model, as an inspiration for my own work.

"As I've developed, I been moving further and further away from that, which is the way that any artist should if they are developing their voice."

In his recent works, Wheeldon has reshaped classical ballet in thrilling new ways, creating a distinctive, progressive style with cool precision, understated sensuality and striking sculpturalism.

He believes his work has matured considerably in the 12 years since his creation of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." But he remains proud of the work, which has been performed by a few other companies, including the Alberta Ballet in Canada.

"Looking back at it, there is a sort of charming naivete about it that I almost miss, the unabashed theatricality of just kind of going for it," Wheeldon said. "And although it is not a completely, sort of flawlessly refined production, there is much in it that I think does have charm and does work."

Lockheed says object part of 'sensor technology' testing that ended ThursdayWhat the heck is that thing? It's fair to assume that question was on the minds of many people who traveled along Colo. 128 south of Boulder this week if they happened to catch a glimpse of what appeared to be a large, silver projectile perched alongside the highway and pointed north toward town.

PARIS (AP) — Bye, New York! Ciao, Milan! Bonjour, Paris! The world's largest traveling circus of fashion editors, models, buyers and journalists has descended on the French capital, clutching their metro maps and city guides, to cap the ready-to-wear fashion season. Full Story